County to appeal contract award to Prosecutor's Office investigators

By Danielle CamilliStaff writer

Monday

Dec 24, 2012 at 12:01 AMDec 24, 2012 at 5:00 AM

MOUNT HOLLY — The Burlington County Board of Freeholders has appealed the contract arbitration award for investigators in the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, claiming the impact of the increases cannot be sustained in the current fiscal climate.

An arbitrator awarded the investigators, represented by Police Benevolent Association Local 320, a three-year contract with a 3.25 percent salary increase over the life of the agreement, which is retroactive running from Jan. 1, 2011, to Dec. 31, 2013. The award also recognized the investigators’ seniority step increases, which bumps up the pay hikes.

It’s the impact of those step increases that has the county crying foul and formed the basis of its appeal. Officials said with the steps included, the contract results in a 25.5 percent increase over three years, costing the county and taxpayers an additional $424,763.

While the county has submitted a brief to the state Superior Court’s Appellate Division to fight the award, the freeholders earlier this month had to accept the award. Local 320 officials had no comment on the award or the appeal Friday because of the litigation.

Ten of the 22 investigators represented by the bargaining unit will receive raises from $13,000 to $20,000 under the arbitration award, County Administrator Paul Drayton said Friday. The five most senior detectives will see their salaries jump from $76,237 to the new top figure of $91,856. New hires would go from about $52,000 to about $57,000 under the contract.

County detectives are charged with investigating all major crimes, including homicides, sexual assaults and other serious incidents. They also assist local law enforcement and are a critical part of winning convictions at trial, as they are responsible for investigative work to build cases. Drayton said that the county had no issues with the unit’s work performance and that the dispute is solely financial.

In contracts with step structures, which are common in law enforcement pacts, the steps at the top yield greater percentage increases.

The county, in its initial appeal, which it lost in a decision by the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission, argued that the award should not have included the steps or seniority provisions since the county is subject to a mandated 2 percent salary cap.

Drayton said the county believes any percentage award should have taken into consideration the step, “not 2 percent plus steps.” The step structure is something the county is looking at in negotiations with all its other bargaining units, saying it is a major driver, along with scheduling and overtime issues, of personnel costs. Salaries and wages are the largest part of the county’s $199 million budget.

“The decision doesn’t come close to a real understanding of the total financial impact of this kind of award,” Drayton said. “It doesn’t look at the total picture.”

He said that picture includes the county’s declining ratable base, contracts with its other nine bargaining units, its non-represented employees, and the impact of large salary increases on taxpayers.

“They’re making decisions in a vacuum. … Under the 2 percent salary cap, this award is not sustainable, not only for this bargaining unit (the detectives), but when you consider the impact on all the others, you’re looking at mass financial problems as we move forward.”

While some of the bargaining units do not have a step structure, the county said it considered the impact of 25 percent raises across all its union contracts. County spokesman Ralph Shrom said that would force the county tax rate to rise from 31 to 39 cents per $100 of assessed property value and would hike the tax levy, which is the amount raised by taxes, from $160 million to $203 million. The levy is well below the maximum it could be raised under the statute, which is addressed in the PERC decision.

“Here, (the arbitrator) found that the award which he rendered would not cause the county to exceed its tax levy cap, and that the county had the ability to pay the salary award,” the decision reads.

Shrom said the county’s appeal of the investigator’s award would demonstrate the potential total cost of letting the arbitrator’s award stand.

“Trying to address this within the financial realities we are dealing with becomes expensive over time,” Drayton said.

In recent years, the Republican-controlled freeholder board has been committed to lowering both the tax rate and the levy in an effort to provide tax relief in a struggling economy.

“We still have outstanding contracts with our other unions, and we’re trying to be as even-handed as we can,” Shrom said.

The county is in negotiations or waiting for interest arbitration decisions with the rest of its units. An arbitration award decision is expected shortly regarding the sheriff’s officers, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 166.

The county also has a meeting set up next month with its largest employees union, the Communications Workers of America Local 1036, with officials saying there has been “good dialogue” between the parties recently.

Danielle Camilli: 609-267-7586;

email: dcamilli@phillyBurbs.com;

Twitter: @dcamilli

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